Trans-Tasman retirement savings portability scheme for individuals

From 1 July 2013, individuals may transfer retirement savings between Australia and New Zealand after emigrating from one country to the other.

The transfer is voluntary for members. Accepting transferred retirement savings is also voluntary for Australian super funds. Check with your Australian super fund to confirm if they are participating in the scheme.

You may only transfer retirement savings between a complying super fund regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and a New Zealand KiwiSaver scheme.

Transferring savings from your KiwiSaver scheme to an Australian super fund

When transferring super savings from your KiwiSaver scheme to an Australian super fund, your fund may request details of:

any Australian-sourced or New Zealand-sourced amounts that form part of the transfer

any tax-free component of an Australian-sourced amount

any amount not previously counted towards the non-concessional contributions cap

any restricted non-preserved or unrestricted non-preserved amounts.

These details must be provided by the KiwiSaver scheme if requested. The details must be provided before the Australian super fund will accept the transferred amount.

Rules for transfers to Australia

Once your KiwiSaver scheme savings are transferred to your Australian super fund, they are generally subject to Australia's superannuation rules.

Some rules only apply to money transferred from a KiwiSaver scheme and held in an Australian super fund, for example:

it can only be transferred to, and held in, a complying super fund regulated by APRA

it cannot be transferred to a self-managed super fund

it can be accessed when the member reaches New Zealand's retirement age (currently 65).

Accessing your retirement savings

Retirement savings you transfer to Australia from New Zealand are held in your super fund in two parts:

the New Zealand-sourced component

the Australian-sourced component.

To access the Australian-sourced component, generally you will need to be 60 years old and satisfy the Australian definition of retirement.

To access the New Zealand-sourced component, you will need to reach the New Zealand age of retirement (currently 65).

Income tax

A transfer from a New Zealand KiwiSaver scheme to a participating Australian super fund is not taxed. It's also tax-free to withdraw them from your super account once you're legally allowed to access them.

Any savings you transfer to an Australian super fund are not deductible as a personal contribution.

Transfers are not eligible personal contributions for the purpose of receiving the super co-contribution for low-income earners.

Transfers are also not eligible for a spouse contribution tax offset.

Limits to how much you can transfer

The limit on how much you can transfer from a KiwiSaver to an Australian super fund depends on your non-concessional contributions cap. From 1 July 2017, your total superannuation balance also impacts how much you can contribute.

Note: You must transfer the entire balance of your KiwiSaver when you transfer to an Australian fund. If your balance is more than the transfer limit, you will be unable to transfer your savings.

We will treat your contributions as non-concessional (or personal) contributions. They will therefore be subject to the non-concessional contributions cap. If you exceed the cap, you will be liable for excess contributions tax.

Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994 Regulation 12A.10(3) and 12A.10(6) (applicable on and after 1 July 2013).

Transferring savings from your Australian super fund to a KiwiSaver scheme

To transfer funds from your Australian super fund to a KiwiSaver scheme, you must:

have permanently emigrated to New Zealand – you need to sign a statutory declaration stating this is the case, and provide proof of residence at an address in New Zealand

contact your Australian super fund and request the whole balance of your super savings be transferred to a KiwiSaver scheme

have a KiwiSaver scheme ready to receive the transferred funds and ensured the KiwiSaver scheme is going to accept your Australian transfer.

Rules for transfers to New Zealand

Once your Australian super fund savings are transferred to your KiwiSaver scheme, they are generally subject to New Zealand's retirement savings rules.

Some rules apply only to money transferred from an Australian super fund to a KiwiSaver scheme, for example it:

can only be transferred from complying super funds regulated by APRA

can't be used to purchase your first home

can't be moved to a third country

can be accessed when the member reaches 60 years old and satisfies the Australian definition of retirement.

Accessing your retirement savings

Retirement savings you transfer to New Zealand from Australia are held in your KiwiSaver in two parts:

the Australian-sourced component

the New Zealand-sourced component.

To access the Australian-sourced component, generally you will need to be 60 years old and satisfy the Australian definition of retirement.

To access the New Zealand-sourced component, you will need to reach the New Zealand age of retirement (currently 65 years old).

Income tax

A transfer from a participating Australian super fund to a New Zealand KiwiSaver scheme is not taxed. It's also tax free to withdraw funds from your KiwiSaver scheme once you are legally allowed to access them.

Limits to how much you can transfer

There are no limits on how much you can transfer from an Australian super fund to a KiwiSaver scheme.

However, you must transfer the whole balance of your Australian fund.

Moving back to your original country

If you move back to your original country, you can transfer your savings back too.

If you're moving back to Australia, you need to provide a statement to your Australian super fund showing which components of your savings (Australian or New Zealand) were previously counted toward the Australian non-concessional contributions cap.

The statement also needs to show the different components (such as tax-free and taxable) of your retirement savings, so they retain that status when transferred back to Australia.

If you don't provide this statement, all your savings will be counted towards the non-concessional contributions cap and you may have to pay excess contributions tax. Also, all the components of your Australian-sourced savings will become taxable and you may be liable for additional tax.

Example

Silpa is 35 years old. She is an Australian citizen currently living in New Zealand.

During her working life in Australia, Silpa accumulated $20,000 in her Australian complying super fund. She does not intend to return to Australia and transfers her Australian super benefits to her KiwiSaver scheme in New Zealand.

Silpa’s Australian fund provides her and the receiving KiwiSaver scheme with a statement about the transferred benefits, including information about her contributions (concessional or non-concessional) and components (taxable or non-taxable).

After 15 years in New Zealand, Silpa decides to return to Australia and transfers all her accumulated savings to an Australian complying super fund.

Silpa provides the receiving Australian fund with a statement from her previous Australian fund confirming $10,000 of her Australian-sourced savings were counted towards the non-concessional contributions cap. This amount is not counted against the cap again. The taxable and non-taxable components of her Australian-sourced savings also retain their status.

Silpa’s New Zealand-sourced savings, and the balance of her Australian-sourced savings, are subject to the non-concessional contributions cap since they were not previously counted against them.

Our commitment to you

We are committed to providing you with accurate, consistent and clear information to help you understand your rights and entitlements and meet your obligations.

If you follow our information and it turns out to be incorrect, or it is misleading and you make a mistake as a result, we will take that into account when determining what action, if any, we should take.

Some of the information on this website applies to a specific financial year. This is clearly marked. Make sure you have the information for the right year before making decisions based on that information.

If you feel that our information does not fully cover your circumstances, or you are unsure how it applies to you, contact us or seek professional advice.